The battle of pride
by magical-flyingdragon
Summary: Ashitika is the prince of Tatabara, San is the princess of the forest surrounding Tatabara, a war waging btween the two sides ends with the engagement of the two...only problem is they hate each other, let the battle of pride begin!
1. The begining

There was once a large city in the middle of a big forest; this city was called tatabara, The town and forest had been waging war against each other for many years, neither able to win the fight, one day a lady in waiting suggested to the king of tatabara that he get his son to marry the princess of the forest so they may restore peace. The king thought this was a wonderful idea; the prince however didn't think so. The idea was sent out to the members of the forest and queen Moro loved the idea also, the princess being the independent girl she was declared that she " didn't need some uptight prince with an infatuated view of himself, to come and intrude her life" So it began. 


	2. 1 the children and their mothers and the...

Just some important notices  
  
1.Eboshi is Asitika's mother 2.Moro is a woman (in case he\she's not) on with my story!!!  
  
" I still don't understand this whole stupid marriage thing" the princess of the forest grumbled to her wolf mother, " now San you don't want this silly war to rage on now do you?" Moro replied, " I wouldn't have cared but THIS is just stupid," San continued as she brushed her hair " I mean I've never even met him!" "That's what today's for San dear, you're finally going to meet you're future husband!" Moro exclaimed proudly. San glared at nothing " I hate arranged marriages, remember that princes Miamara? Remember what happened to HER arranged marriage?!" Moro was silent for a few seconds " well dear that was ONE time, this is different, I'm sure this time" Moro said happily as though attempted murder of your wife was a perfectly normal thing, San continued to grumble but finished brushing her hair and getting herself ready for her meeting with her "future husband"  
  
"Hurry up Ashitika dear they could arrive at any moment!" his mother exclaimed as the young prince got himself ready for the meeting between the prince and princess, " humph this is stupid" he grumbled being rushed into some marriage with a girl he didn't even know! It was absolutely stupid but would she listen? Nooooo " I cant wait, you're going to love her!" his mother continued as her son got himself ready, " I don't even know her mother" he complained, " you will soon" she happily chirped, ignoring the irritated look on her sons face, just then a young servant girl ran in " mistress Eboshi-sama! The guests are here!" she said quickly, " wonderful!" she exclaimed, " invite them in!".  
  
Sorry this chapter is short, and please reviews!! (but don't be too nasty! This is my first ever fic! I'm new to fanfiction.net! I could use advice and stuff so feel free! 


	3. disaster

Thank you for reviewing spookymulder1!! It's nice to know somebody's  
reading my stuff and I really appreciate the advice!  
(Thanks for not criticizing!) I'll try following your advice  
As an answer to you're question about the characters they have sort of  
changed, I'm not  
Quite sure how but they did,  
Ps: did I spell Ashitika's name correctly in this chapter? Let me know!  
On with the next chapter.  
~*~  
San entered Tatabara alone on the back of a wolf, despite her silent awe  
she maintained a bored uninterested expression on her face " not going to  
let them think their flimsy city impresses me" she thought, she looked  
around, there were many tall buildings and friendly looking people walking  
around and the sound of laughter, jest and conversing amongst the people  
could be heard.  
Eventually she came to a big castle in which a women came rushing out  
followed by 5 servants and a young boy who looked about her age, San looked  
back at the woman who she recognized at once as the woman who had killed  
many of the wolves in battle, including her adopted father, this woman had  
caused San much grief, and in all her beauty, in San's eyes, Master Eboshi-  
sama was nothing short of a blood stained murderer.  
" You must be princess San!" she said happily smiling warmly " I'm queen  
Eboshi and this is my son Ashitika" she said yanking the boy forward, there  
was a tense moment in which the two regarded each other,  
" This is my future husband?" San thought, " I could take him down easily,  
humph"  
She could tell that this "prince" was probably thinking along the same  
lines she was, and his mother was ranting on happily about peace and  
wedding plans, neither of the children were listening " come in! I'll get  
the servants to make you both something nice to eat"  
With that "master Eboshi-sama" went running back indoor, the 5 servants  
following her suit, San and Ashitika slowly followed.  
Ashitika glanced at the girl walking beside him, she looked at him and  
glared violently, he glared back just as badly.  
~*~  
Queen Eboshi, stopped, sensing trouble she ran into the garden where San  
and Ashitika had been, Queen Eboshi had sent them out hoping they would get  
to know each other better, and there they were, having a sword fight,  
princess San of course not having a sword was using her knife which was  
proving itself quite useful, queen Eboshi watched in silenced horror as the  
two tried to slice the other in half,  
" THIS CITY IS NOTHING BUT A PILE OF OLD RUINS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR  
FOREST AND MUST BE DESTROYED!!!" San yelled as she thrashed her knife at  
Ashitika who managed to just evade it,  
" IF IT HAD BEEN UP TO ME I WOULD HAVE BURNED YOUR FOREST TO THE GROUND!"  
Ashitika replied as he tried to slice San's head off, she managed to dodge  
it,  
" YOU"R ALL NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF MURDERERS!"  
Some servants came running out to restrain the two of them and had they  
been any weaker they would not have succeeded,  
Queen Eboshi came running over as quickly as possible, " how did this  
happen?" she asked, extremely shocked, but neither of the children took any  
heed to her,  
"MONSTER!!"  
"BARBARIAN!!"  
"MINDLESS KILLER!!"  
" HEARTLESS BEAST!!"  
Queen Eboshi sighed in frustration and went inside leaving the problem for  
the servants to handle,  
This was going to be a lot harder then she had thought it would be.  
  
~*~  
  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
Sorry it took a while to do but I got sisters who constantly want the  
computer and we only got one with Internet!!  
Please review!!  
Cheers! 


	4. The meeting

Thanks again for reviewing!!! I, finding it really supportive! (Jeez I sound pathetic) anyway I need your advice for something. I'm not sure how I want to end this story (that wont come for a while but I'm pondering It) Here are some things I've been thinking of, They'll grow to love each other, get married, blah blah blah happily ever after crap. (How this happens may vary) They'll grow to love each other but one of them dies so the other falls into depression (how this happens may vary) They come to understand each other and try to make the marriage work. Or They Talk their parents out of the marriage and become friends.  
Which do u like best? Tell me and keep reviewing!!! Cheers! On with the  
story.  
  
Princess San had come home just as the sun was going down; Queen Moro rushed over to her daughter, " How did it go?!" she asked torn between anxiety and excitement, San glared and showed her mother a scar on her arm from the fight she had previously, Moro was too shocked to speak, so she merely stared, suddenly San grinned evilly, "I got him just as bad as he got me," she proclaimed smugly "How?" Moro asked finally finding her voice San went into her cave " we tried to kill each other" she called out as an answer to her mother's question.  
~*~  
  
Queen Eboshi was lying on her bed contemplating all the afternoons' events, how could this have happened? What could she do about it? No matter what this marriage had to happen! She didn't want to lose more lives in the war like she had lost her dear husband, she lay in depression for a while, when she decided she would have a meeting with queen Moro to sort this out, she was determined to get this to work, no matter how much those children hated each other. Meanwhile, prince Ashitika was also in his room thinking about the afternoon's events, "that stupid princess" he thought to himself glaring at the opposite walls, he lightly touched the scar on his cheek, "That girl is going to pay dearly for this" he said quietly.  
~*~ Seeing Queen Eboshi in the forest San fled to the cover of her little den, Queen Moro however went out to meet her, " Queen Eboshi! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, " Moro, we need to talk" Eboshi said. " What can we do about this" Moro pondered while she and Eboshi had tea in Moro's cave, " I have an idea," Eboshi said with an impish grin on her face " Somehow we have to force them into liking each other" Moro looked doubtful " force? I'm not sure this is the sort of thing you can force," she muttered as she took a bite of a small biscuit, " You can't really force nature" " Of course you can," Eboshi replied, " we can do anything we want" "Are you sure?" "Of course I am, I'm always sure" " How then?" Eboshi fell into silent thought for a while, and then smiled again, " I know."  
  
~*~  
  
Hope you liked this chapter! What do you think these two queens are plotting for their children? Will it work? Wait and see! =)  
  
(Don't forget to review!!) cheers! 


	5. The iron room

Sorry this took a while, I guess I had other stuff to take care of =). Don't forget to review! On with the story.  
  
~*~  
  
" Are you SURE this will work??" Moro asked exasperated " of course it will," Eboshi replied deviously " it worked for Chihiro and Haku didn't it? (Ever heard of spirited away? I'll be writing a fic on them to!) Moro still looked doubtful as the loud shouts and crashed could be heard from inside the large room in which San and Ashitika had been imprisoned. for five hours, " don't worry, they'll wear out eventually," Eboshi comforted Moro " it just takes time" how of course they had managed to get the two children into the same room long enough to close AND lock the doors was beyond anybody, " they might kill each other in there" Moro said frightfully " of course they wont," Eboshi reassured " they after all both match each other in every way imaginable" Moro sighed, " if waiting till they tire is the case we'll be here for a long time" she mumbled.  
  
~*~  
  
Inside this iron walled room an unimaginable frenzied battle waged on, how it had started? As soon as they had entered the room, and became aware of the others presence the first thing to enter each minds was revenge upon the other for the damage inflicted, And so it continued, fighting, yelling, madness, raging in for hours on end, neither able to gain the advantage it was just as Eboshi had said, they both matched each other in every way possible. Hours passed and day slowly wore into night and the two had finally worn out and had taken to sitting in opposite ends of the room glaring at each other.  
  
~*~  
  
" Its gone quiet all of a sudden" Moro said anxiously, expecting the worst, " don't be silly," Eboshi said as she sipped some tea " we cant leave them in there all night as well!" Moro exclaimed, horrified " we'll leave them in as long as it takes" Eboshi replied, suddenly they were interrupted by a loud banging on the door, " LET ME OUT OF HERE!!" a scream was heard from inside, " that's San!" Moro cried, Eboshi smiled " begging already are we?" she cried in response, " HOW DARE YOU IMPLY IM BEGGING YOU!! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOU"LL BE SORRY!" San continued to scream banging on the door " MY MOTHER WOULD NEVER ALLOW THIS!!" at this Moro felt a big stab of guilt, Eboshi however smiled even wider " your mothers right here!" she called, there was a silence "MOTHER?!" San called, making sure the 'devil woman' was telling the truth, " I'm here San dear!" Moro called, " LET ME OUT OF HERE!! THIS IS INHUMAN! ITS CRIMINAL!! ITS BARBARIC!" San yelled immediately " THEIR FORCING ME TO STAY IN HERE WITH THE VAMPIRES SON!!" Eboshi sighed, she was tiring of the constant name calling " and for good reason!" she called back " were keeping you two in there until you can at least co-operate with each other!" " YOU CANT LET THEM DO THIS TO ME MOTHER!! LET ME OUT! LET ME OOUTT!!!" the screaming and banging continued, " Maybe we should make this room sound proof lest it disturbs the other castle residence from their sleep" Eboshi said thoughtfully.  
  
~*~  
  
What did you all think??? Please tell me! I accept flames, its only fair! ^_^ (sorry again for lateness!) Cheers! 


	6. uh no title!

Sorry this chapter took ages! My comp was kind of stuffed up for a while, Internet not working, anyways on to next chappie!  
~*~  
  
It was rather late at night, the only sound to be heard was the constant banging and yelling from behind the iron doors, the seemingly tireless wolf princess still trying to break down the door, Ashitika sat quietly in one corner of the room staring calmly into space, having gotten used to the new surroundings he appeared to have retreated into his own thoughts, the only place he could get away from "her" Hours seemed to pass when San, finally exhausted sank into a sitting position with her back to the doors, she glared to the boy who was sitting in the opposite corner of the room, staring peacefully into oblivion. " How in the name of shishigami can you be calm at a time like this?!?!" She yelled frustratingly, Ashitika looked at her, obviously annoyed by this rude intrusion of his thought, he however maintained his calm expression, he said nothing. This annoyed San further but she decided against doing anything, she was after all exhausted.  
~*~  
  
" They've been in there ALL NIGHT!" Moro moaned anxiously, " They are fine Moro, have no fear" Eboshi said happily, " as long as they're not killing each other everything will be fine" " But what if they HAVE killed each other?!" Moro exclaimed " They haven't" " What makes you so sure?" " I just am" Moro sat in quiet thoughtfulness, " Shouldn't we check on them?" Moro said suddenly " We don't want them in there longer then needed" Eboshi seemed stricken by this idea, " we need some way of seeing what they're up to without actually opening the door" she said thoughtfully. " That's impossible though," Moro said " Of course its not" Eboshi said firmly " We can do anything we want, remember that Moro"  
  
~*~  
  
It seemed that San had finally gone to sleep, sprawled across the floor, hair all over her face snoring softly, meanwhile sitting in the corner of the room, Ashitika watched her in silent thought, she was actually quiet pretty for somebody who spent their entire life living amongst a pack of wolves, he suddenly shook his head roughly, " Why am I thinking like this?!" he muttered, he reflected back to what something his mother had told him once, " Don't always judge by appearance Ashtika," she had told him with that tired smile of hers "people are not always as you think they are" He sighed, maybe she wasn't as bad as he thought she was, or maybe he was just overreacting to his tiredness.  
  
~*~  
  
I hope you liked!!  
  
(Sorry I took s long!!!! Please forgive!!!) I'm running out of ideas, arh! , Please review!  
  
Cheers! 


	7. so hungry

Sorry, I'm taking so long to update this! I've got other stuff to do! And sorry the last chapter was so short! Anyways onto the next chapt.  
  
~*~  
  
" Soooo hungry!" San moaned, it had been 3 weeks and still they were confined in the "iron prison" San was lying on her back staring at the ceiling not having the energy to do much else, she began to scan the room for anything edible, she spotted her arm, which was sticking up beyond her head. It was looking very tasty; she stared at it hungrily, now if she could just pull her head a little closer.  
  
~*~  
  
Moro was pacing near the door, which had imprisoned her precious daughter, Who knows what was happening in there? Plus they didn't have any food; they could have starved to death! " It would explain the long silence anyway" she murmured fearfully, all this waiting was really getting to her, where had lady Eboshi gone? She said she wouldn't be more then a week, she again looked up at the door, " if only there was some way I could get them some food".  
  
~*~  
  
Ashitika opened his eyes, he had been sleeping for a long time, he looked around the room, suddenly he spotted San, trying to chew her arm off.  
  
He couldn't help be a little worried, " You ok over there?" he called, she looked up glaring, he could see insanity flickering in her eyes, she must have been *really* hungry " Stay back!" she yelled madly, " This is MY ARM!! GET YOUR OWN!!" she continued ravenously biting her arm, until it started to bleed slightly, the pain seemed to bring her back to reality, she stared incredulity down at her arm.  
  
Down at her arm " I tried to eat myself" she murmured in a low voice, She then curled herself into a ball and began muttering to herself. Ashitika began to pity the girl. She looked incredibly pathetic, sighing to himself he crawled over to where she was and put a comforting arm around her.  
  
" What the shishigami am I doing?!?!" he thought to himself, he hated this girl! He hated her more then he hated that ugly little mole man that was always sucking up to his mother, he hated her more then that annoying servant girl Toki who thought it funny to pour ice cold water over his head every day as a wake up call, he hated her more then his extremely annoying sister Kaya!! Or did he.  
  
~*~  
  
Well, we come to the end of another chapter, sorry if this is taking ages, I got other stories to write. Review please?? Cheers! 


	8. sorry this took so long to write!

I'm back!! Thanks for Reviewing!!  
  
Glad you like it Kingster0517!! I will update as soon as possible!! And thank you bladegryphon for also reviewing! (Also since you reviewed another fic of mine!) Time to start the next chapter!!  
  
~*~  
  
Moro was more anxious than ever, still pacing the doors, the silence was killing her, she would have felt better with all that racket they were making a while ago, at least she knew they were alive then. She desperately hoped that Eboshi would return soon.  
  
*  
  
Eboshi was streaking across the countryside on a large horse, holding something under her arm as she rode, Feeling rather confident about herself. She started to speed up slightly, she had already been gone longer than she had said she would, Moro was already anxious enough as it was.  
  
*  
  
*  
  
Meanwhile Moro was still very agitated, she glared at the door that was keeping her from seeing her poor daughter, had this been anywhere in the forest she would have been fine, San had been taught to deal with anything the forest had to fear, but this place was very different, she was so tired, she hoped Eboshi would just come back soon.  
* When San awoke she felt groggy and bleary, half opening her eyes she wondered where she was, then recalled the events of the past night, she glanced at her arm and, sure enough, there were two bite marks where she had tried to gnaw her arm off.  
  
A bit further up her arm was the scar she had received from Ashitika the day they had fought each other in the garden. How long ago that seemed now she thought.  
  
Suddenly she realized somebody was sleeping next to her, absurdly she thought who it could be then remembered where she was. and who she had been  
trapped with for the past three days. She also discovered she didn't actually care, being too hungry, too tired and too fed up with everything,  
she drifted comfortably back to sleep.  
  
*  
  
Eh. Sorry this chapter is so short!!! Guess you'll just have to wait for da  
next chapt! 


	9. An unexpected savior

Sorry dis is so late 0_0 Thanks for da review Kingster 0517!! Haha yeh ill try and make a longer chapter this time, glad u like it!! And thank you Cowgree! Yes I had meant to change Ashitika's character, for the sake of the story mostly (making him calm and reasonable would be boring). I might consider those ideas, thank you; I'm always open for suggestions!! =)  
  
~*~  
  
San awoke for the second time that day, still feeling rather tired she vaguely wondered whether the past events had been a dream, she glanced at her surroundings hopefully. She was still in the cursed prison room.  
  
She sighed warily; She had lost all the strength in her body, mainly due to the lack of food. She glanced at her arm, which was starting to look very tasty again. she shook her head fiercely. Hunger was starting to dominate over her thoughts again.  
  
Suddenly something beside her stirred slightly, she realized that Ashitika was still asleep beside her with his head resting on her shoulder, her face softened slightly and a small smile crept over her features, as much as she hated to admit it, he looked rather cute.  
  
~*~  
  
Moro was extremely worried now, where on earth was Eboshi?!?! She stared longingly at the door; all she wanted was to see her daughter, to make sure she was okay, as that too much to ask?!  
  
She tried to gain control over herself; she didn't want another war like back when her dear husband had died. She convinced herself that this was for the best; after all, she didn't want to lose another loved one for the sake of violence.  
  
Suddenly she heard a loud shriek " WERE IS HE!!!" a young girl ran over looking worried and a little annoyed " have you seen my brother anywhere? He's been missing for the past three days!!" she cried flapping her arms wildly, giving Moro the Impression that she thought she was a headless chicken.  
  
Moro however silently looked at the door " your brother and my daughter have been locked in this room together in a desperate attempt to get them to co-operate together" she explained, the girl stood silently for a while, then giggled " you mean that weird looking girl he was fighting with a while ago?" she shrieked again, Moro felt slightly angered that annoyed that anybody would call her gifted daughter weird, " but they'll NEVER get along!!" the girl continue happily " they'll kill each other!!" the girl began to laugh, Moro suddenly felt that she wanted to spend no more time with this girl " I have to go find miss Eboshi now" she said before running down the hallway.  
  
~*~  
  
The girl smiled to herself, hidden somewhere underneath her nightgown (which she always wore) she had hidden the key to the prison, having stole it from her mother that morning while she was sleeping.  
  
She stared up at the big door, took a deep breath, " Hey is anybody still alive in there?!" she whispered getting as close to the door as possible so her voice would be heard. First there was a silence, and then a scrambling noise, " Is that you Kaya?!" she heard her brother's voice reply anxiously, "Yeah, its me, now listen," she muttered as quietly as she thought needed " I have the key to this prison thing and I'm gonna let you out, but you're gonna have to lay low for a while, I suggest hiding somewhere in the forest, and you might wanna stick together, just to be safe," she heard footsteps approaching and panicked, " There's no time to now so I'll have to do it tonight, that way I can lead you out through the secret passage under my bed" with that she pulled away from the door to find Toki staring at her curiously. " Hi there Toki," She said casually, " what are you up to?" Toki looked at her suspiciously but finally having found no signs of guilt said " nothing, I was going into town though, wanna come?" feeling relieved, Kaya accepted and they walked away together.  
  
~*~  
  
Kaya tip toed down the hall making sure her feet made not the slightest sound. She approached the door, " hey," she whispered to the door, " I'm here, you guys ready?" after hearing two mumbles of acknowledgment she unlocked and quietly opened the door, sure enough, there were the two captives, she turned and, after whispering for them to follow ran down the hallway.  
~*~  
  
They came to the end of the passage and crawled out to find themselves at the corner of the forest, " well this is where I leave you," Kaya muttered. San muttered a thank you and turned to go, Ashitika however turned to his sister with an expression of curiosity and gratitude, " why did you help us?" he inquired, Kaya smiled at him, and said " lets just say I know what its like to be locked in a room for a really long time with somebody I cant stand" with that she gave him a quick hug and scrambled back into the dark passage, Ashitika stared after her for a while then followed after San into the dark forest.  
  
~*~  
  
Well there you have it, longest chapter yet! ^^ Sorry if its not very  
funny, I'll work on that!  
Not very romantic either but well get to that later on  
Review!! 


	10. in the forest

So many reviews!!  
Thanks Clarivoientmarshmellow! Thanks for the suggestion!!  
You too radical-seto, sorry this chapter took so long!!  
Kingster0517, thank you too!  
I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!!  
Sorry this took so long buy my keyboard got broken.  
  
~*~  
  
Kaya sat in her room feeling very happy with herself, despite her slight nervousness for what might happen to her brother. He, after all had never been into the forest, but he did have San with him. She was sure it would  
work out. Just then she heard two voices passing her door, so she listened intently  
to the conversation. "I don't know who they escaped, I only left the door once, I was only gone  
for 5 minutes so they couldn't have left without my knowing" " And how they managed to get the keys is completely beyond me, I had them  
with me the whole time, besides, somebody had to have helped them" Kaya identified the first voice as the forest queen Moro and the second as  
her mother, she smiled knowing even if they did question her about the  
escape, her mother would believe whatever she told her. If Eboshi had any faults, it was that she put a little too much trust in  
her children.  
~*~  
  
San and Ashitika were walking cautiously through the dark forest. It had been a few days since their miraculous escape, but they had decided  
to take Kaya's advice and stick together.  
Presently they came to a mysterious swampy area  
  
" This," San proclaimed "is where I go when I want to escape my mother, I'm  
the only one who knows about it apart from him" She pointed to a strange deer like creature with massive antlers and a red  
face  
Shishigami. The thing turned its face to gaze upon them.it said nothing. Suddenly, lots of little human-like creatures began to appear, with large  
black eyes and large black mouths, as they shook their tiny heads about  
tiny clicking noises filled the air. " What are those things?!" Ashitike murmured sounding quite alarmed, San  
grinned, " Don't worry they wont hurt you," she laughed "their just Kodama's, forest  
spirits." Ashitika looked around in awe, the swamp place was rather beautiful in a mysterious kind of way, large trees with twisting branches, and a mist that  
seemed to hang over the entire place.  
He looked over at San who was sitting on a small island thing in the  
middle of the pool, she was "talking" to a deer sort of creature which,  
like Shishigami, had antlers, but not so big. She looked at him and smiled, " this is Yukkuru," she explained, " He's a  
friend of mine" San seemed so much happier now that they were in the forest, it was after  
all were she had grown up.  
  
~*~  
  
Ashitika couldn't help but realize how beautiful San looked as beams of morning sun shone around her, making her look like some wild forest angle  
with a mischievous grin on her small face.  
  
San glanced at him, as she stroked Yakkuru's fluffy coat, he had settled himself near a tree and had taken once again to staring at something far  
away, a thoughtful expression on his face, she smiled, he looked so  
peacefull like that,  
  
~*~  
  
As they days went on, the two decided they spent a lot of time in San's special place, San spent most of her time playing with Yakkuru and Ashitika  
spent most of his time gazing at her talking in her untamed beauty.  
  
~*~  
  
Aahr, sorry this chapter is so short!! This story is gonna finish soon^_^ I  
got it all planned out, reviews! 


	11. Of 'witchdoctors' curses and lookalikes0...

That's right, after abandoning this story for a long time I have returned to finish it, after all, theres nothing worse then an unfinished story TT plus I kept getting reviews from people telling me to update, hehe thanks everyone! If not for you I probably would have just deleted the story... so anyway, the next chapter!  
  
Click click click click  
  
"..."  
  
Click click click click  
  
Eboshi sat quietly in the old straw hut, staring anxiously around the room. She never believed she would ever resort to such things as this, but right now she was as desperate as Moro to find the children, and willing to try anything.  
  
In front of her, was a weary old woman, with her gray hair tied in a bun, exactly identical those of the long line of men. Starting from the oldest man, who seemed to have far too much hair to be truly ties back, to a young looking boy who resembled Ashitika greatly. In front of the old woman was a small circle of pebbles, and a few odd looking stones and shells inside it, Eboshi guessed it was some form of witchcraft.  
  
Click, click click... click click  
  
She picked up a black marble, tossed it at an old shell, picked up a stone, threw it at the marble, picked up some more pebbles, tossed them into the circle, rearranged a few things, picked up another stone...  
  
Click click click click  
  
"Hmm... It appears..." The old woman began, before picking up another stone, click click click  
  
"It appears that your son is missing." click click.... Click "he has run away with a wild young girl from the forest" click click click  
  
"Yes yes, you've already told me that" Eboshi said impatiently, she had been in this hut for three whole hours now. Moro had already left, deciding to question some of the village folk, but Eboshi was going to sty here, why she was putting her trust into some old witch from this crazy village she didn't know. But as mentioned before, she was desperate.  
  
The woman again fell silent. Click...click click "the forest of the ancient Shishigami..." she began again "is a mystical place"  
  
"Yes I know," Eboshi sighed, "please, do you know ANYTHING else about my sons whereabouts?!"  
  
"..."  
  
Click click click...  
  
Moro meanwhile, wasn't having much luck either, the townsfolk hadn't been much help, she had spoken with several young girls who seemed to remind her of that princess Kaya, all thay had to say on the matter was "I'snt prince Ashitika that guy who looks like Kari?"  
  
"Ouuh Kari is sooo handsome!"  
  
"I wish I could marry him!"  
  
Moro supposed "Kari" was the young boy back in the Witchdoctor's hut, true, he DID look remarkably like prince Ashitika, he even seemed to act like him, the only real differences where his clothes, and that odd looking bun in his hair.  
  
After another five minutes of listening to mindless babble from the girls, Moro decided to look elsewhere, seeing as they weren't exactly being very helpful. Perhaps the boar clans of the forest would know something...  
  
"... And Mother and Queen Moro have gone off to some weird village in the west to seek the help of an old lady" Kaya finished her report with a smile "they still have NO idea you're here"  
  
"Well that's good" San muttered as she sharpened her spear on a rock absently, "if mother found out about this place I would NEVER have ANY privacy" she scowled at the thought.  
  
There were a few minutes of silence after Kaya left, San continued to sharpen her spear, although it looked sharp enough as it was. While Ashitika, as usual, sat in wordless thought.  
  
What would happen after this was all over? Would they simply go back to war? Or could they find some other way of keeping the peace? San must have been thinking the same thing, after a moment of hesitation she asked "hey, after all this... ya know... is over... what d'you think will happen?" after a moment to think it over, he replied "Out Mothers will most likely continue trying to get us together"  
  
It seemed all they could do really, after all, once his mother got her hands on what she thought was a brilliant idea, she wouldn't let go of it until it had succeeded. San scowled again, "If they do, ill run away," she said stubbornly. Ashitika looked up at her skeptically, "to where?"  
  
San considered for a moment, then a triumphant sort of look crossed her face. "To another forest. I'll become its princess, and find myself a REAL prince to marry" she smirked at him. That girl has some strange ideas sometimes. She had told him just a few days ago that she had originally planned on marrying the Shishigami, explaining that becoming the wife of a god would make their forest invincible. But her Mother had said the idea was crazy, and that she would do better marrying one of the boar clan chiefs.  
  
And just a few days before that, she had told him of a curse that Yakkuru had told her of. A curse that came from the Iron orb that was mined for at Tatabara. The curse was supposed to eat slowly at your flesh, eventually killing you. That was, of course, if you didn't go crazy from the pain and 'transform' into a 'tataragami' first. Definitely a strange girl, she was.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Click click click  
  
"..."  
  
Click click... click click "hmm... I see..." she looked up at Eboshi seriously, her mouth set to a grim line. "Your Son has three months to live"  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!" Eboshi leapt to her feet "what's wrong with him?!?! Where is he?!?! I have to find him! I have to..."  
  
"Calm down Majesty" the Woman, said sternly, Eboshi fell quiet and dropped back into a kneeling position. Anxious to learn more so that she could save her son.  
  
Click click click "yes... I see it... a terrible curse..."  
  
"MY SON IS CURSED?!?!"  
  
"Please calm down!!"  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
Click click click click... "a curse..." the woman continued, "of great evil... If he cannot find the cure in time, then he shall die... or worse... become a tataragami"  
  
Lady Eboshi had no idea what a 'tataragami' was, but by the horrified murmurs spreading through the men in the room, she guessed it was a very bad thing.  
  
"Of course..." the woman said quietly "he hasn't been inflicted with the curse yet" Eboshi jumped, "is there any way to prevent this from happening?!" she asked nervously.  
  
Click click click click... "in a month's time, a Tataragami shall come raging through the Mononoke forest, It shall find San and your son. If you can find them until that happens, then perhaps his fate shall be different"  
  
Eboshi was so shocked she didn't know what to say. The Woman now had her head down again, she was playing with those stones.  
  
After a few more minutes of playing with stones, the woman looked up at her.  
  
"I'll send my son with you, he knows the Forests better then his own villiage, he'll be able to help you" she glanced fondly at the youngest of the men in the room "Kari!" At the sound of his name, the boy's attention snapped from who-knows-what-he-was-thinking to the woman.  
  
"I want you to go with queen Eboshi and help her to find her son" she told him, he nodded silently, then did something strange, he pulled out a small knife, and cut the bun in his hair. Then the eldest man started to make some speech about how the people of the villiage was a dying culture, and some other things she didn't bother listening to. A strange people indeed.  
  
Well... there we go! I have some great new ides for this story now grins perhaps it wont be ending as soon as I had thought... REVIEW!!! 


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